Inside the £50.6 Million Payment Behind Masdar's East Anglia 3 Stake

In October 2023 Masdar was in talks to buy 49 percent of East Anglia 3, Iberdrola's 1.4 GW offshore wind project off the Suffolk coast. The deal that finally closed in July 2025 was for 50 percent, and Enerdatics values it at $2.9 billion. Almost none of that was paid in cash for the shares.

Key takeaways

• Masdar acquired a 50 percent stake in Iberdrola's 1.4 GW East Anglia 3 offshore wind project in the UK, announced on 10 July 2025 and completed on 17 July 2025, after negotiations for a 49 percent stake that began in 2023.
• Enerdatics calculates the enterprise value of Masdar's East Anglia 3 stake at $2.94 billion, made up of a purchase price consideration of GBP 50.6 million ($67.81 million) and associated liabilities of GBP 2.148 billion ($2.879 billion) disclosed in Masdar's 2025 financial report.
• The $2.94 billion East Anglia 3 enterprise value implies about $4.2 million per MW for Masdar's 50 percent share, a figure Enerdatics describes as consistent with comparable UK offshore wind transactions.
• On 9 July 2025 East Anglia 3 signed EUR 4.1 billion ($4.76 billion) of project financing with 24 international banks, covering a substantial portion of the project's EUR 5.2 billion ($6.04 billion) total cost.
• East Anglia 3 holds 15-year CPI-linked Contracts for Difference, with 1,372.34 MW awarded in Allocation Round 4 at GBP 37.35 per MWh and 158.90 MW in Allocation Round 6 at GBP 54.23 per MWh, plus a 159 MW PPA with Amazon.

How did a 49 percent stake in talks become a 50 percent deal?

Through a partnership that grew around it. Iberdrola had been negotiating with Masdar since 2023 over a 49 percent stake in East Anglia 3, and the original version of this post covered those early talks. A 49 percent stake would have left Iberdrola in control.

While the talks ran, the relationship widened. On 5 December 2023 the two companies agreed a strategic partnership committing EUR 15 billion ($17.43 billion) to offshore wind and green hydrogen across the UK, Germany and the US. Their first joint venture, the 476 MW Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm in Germany, was by then signed and has since been completed, as set out in Enerdatics' analysis of the $1.76 billion valuation behind Masdar's Baltic Eagle stake.

By the time East Anglia 3 was signed, the terms had moved to an even split. Masdar and Iberdrola each hold 50 percent with shared governance, and together are co-investing EUR 5.2 billion in the project. Leap dates the transaction to May 2025. Masdar announced it on 10 July 2025, the day after the project financing was signed, and the deal completed a week later.

Why was the cash price so small?

Because the project's debt did most of the work. Enterprise value is the value of a business including its debt, not just the price of its shares. Masdar's 2025 financial report disclosed a purchase price consideration of GBP 50.6 million and associated liabilities of GBP 2.148 billion. Enerdatics adds the two to reach an enterprise value of $2.94 billion.

The split makes sense given how the project was funded. The EUR 4.1 billion of project financing signed with 24 banks covers most of the EUR 5.2 billion cost, and the financing was oversubscribed by 40 percent. Earlier, in July 2023, Iberdrola had also secured a $554.58 million loan from Citi, partly guaranteed by Eksfin, Norway's export credit agency. With that much debt in place, the equity cheque needed to step into half of the project was small relative to the asset's value.

The deal value is stealth sourced. Neither Masdar nor Iberdrola disclosed a price in the transaction press release, and Enerdatics identified the $2.94 billion figure from Masdar's later financial report.

What revenue supports a $4.2 million per MW valuation?

A government contract with inflation protection, plus one corporate buyer. A Contract for Difference, or CfD, is a UK government contract that pays a generator the gap between a fixed strike price and the market price, and claws back the difference when market prices are higher. It turns most of a wind farm's revenue into a known number for 15 years.

East Anglia 3 won most of its capacity in Allocation Round 4 at GBP 37.35 per MWh ($50.05 per MWh). A further tranche came in Allocation Round 6 at GBP 54.23 per MWh ($72.68 per MWh). Both contracts are linked to the consumer price index, which lifts the strike price with inflation. On top sits a 159 MW PPA with Amazon, signed in 2024 and worth about 700 GWh a year.

The project itself is far along. It will use 95 Siemens Gamesa turbines of 14.7 MW each, one offshore converter station and up to four subsea export cables. Onshore construction began in 2022 and offshore construction in 2025, and commercial operation is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026. Masdar bought in after the hardest development risks were resolved but before the asset produced revenue.

Enerdatics records 18 UK offshore wind transactions announced since the start of 2023 with a disclosed value of at least $100 million. Grossed up to a 100 percent basis, the closest comparable, Apollo and La Caisse's $6.5 billion purchase of 50 percent of Orsted's 2.9 GW Hornsea 3 in November 2025, values that project at about $4.5 million per MW of wind capacity. Operating assets span a wider range: PTTEP's 25.5 percent of Seagreen in December 2023 grosses up to about $4.0 million per MW, and Schroders Greencoat's 25 percent of London Array in July 2023 to about $5.85 million per MW. East Anglia 3, at about $4.2 million per MW, sits with the projects still under construction. The structured field in Leap shows $2.11 million per MW, because it divides the stake value by the full 1.4 GW rather than by Masdar's half.

What does the deal signal for UK offshore wind?

It signals that UK offshore wind changes hands at construction stage on the back of project debt, not large equity cheques. Iberdrola took East Anglia 3 through permitting, procurement and early construction, then sold half once the financing was ready. The buyer paid a modest cash price and took on its share of the debt. Enerdatics' earlier post on Masdar's investment in Iberdrola's East Anglia 3 project covers the capital-light logic of that approach.

It also confirms Masdar's role as a repeat partner rather than a one-off buyer. Masdar aims to reach 100 GW of renewable capacity by 2030, up to 30 GW of it in Europe, building on its 2024 acquisitions of Saeta Yield in Spain and TERNA ENERGY in Greece. East Anglia 3 adds a large UK asset to that base. It also forms part of ScottishPower Renewables' planned 3.3 GW East Anglia Hub, which includes the East Anglia 1 and 2 wind farms.

Frequently asked questions

How much did Masdar pay for its East Anglia 3 stake? Enerdatics calculates the enterprise value of Masdar's 50 percent stake at $2.94 billion. That comprises a purchase price consideration of GBP 50.6 million ($67.81 million) and associated liabilities of GBP 2.148 billion ($2.879 billion), disclosed in Masdar's 2025 financial report.

When will East Anglia 3 start operating? East Anglia 3 is expected to reach commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2026. Onshore construction began in 2022 and offshore construction in 2025.

How is East Anglia 3 financed? On 9 July 2025 the project signed EUR 4.1 billion ($4.76 billion) of project financing with 24 international banks, against a total cost of EUR 5.2 billion ($6.04 billion). Iberdrola also secured a $554.58 million loan from Citi in July 2023, partly guaranteed by Eksfin.

Ready to get deal-ready answers in seconds? Try Enerdatics Leap AI and access verified intelligence across M&A, financings, PPAs, projects, and energy market developments through natural language.